Google to launch Wi-Fi service?

A page on its website instructs customers on how to download Google Secure Access, a client that the site says "allows you to establish a more secure connection while using Google WiFi."

In April, Google began sponsoring a free hotspot in San Francisco's Union Square. The FAQ mentions that Secure Access is only available for use at certain spots in San Francisco - raising the possibility that Google is looking to blow apart the Wi-Fi access market, as it has already done with Webmail and is threatening to do with VoIP.

In August, Business 2.0 magazine published a report on rumors that Google had begun buying access to fibre across the US. Industry observers have since speculated that Google may be on the verge of offering some sort of access service, potentially using Wi-Fi.

The webpage in question also says that while Google Secure Access should work at any Wi-Fi location, Google hasn't tested it elsewhere.